Thanks to zrrbrrt for bringing this to the tasting...
Appears a transparent light brown with a small, off-white head that quickly fades out into a collar. Small spots of lacing are left around the glass.
Smell is of light coconut(power of suggestion?), grapes, vanilla, cocoa, and brown sugar.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with a bit of a strangeness that keeps me on my toes enough to stay interested.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sweet, Belgian, and creamy vanilla with light astringency. (497 characters)

Medium brown pour. No aroma to speak of. No head, no active carbonation. (I must note here I tried a four ounce sample, so all prior traits noted might be different in a pint glass or from a bottle). Moderate malt sweetness, followed by a stronger piney hop finish. Unremarkable mouthfeel.

Dark amber in color with a khaki head. Opens up with bread, toffee, and toasted malt. A little bit of caramel in there as well. Mild floral and earthy hop aromas, a touch of metal to it, too. The flavor is quite sweet. Toast, caramel, toffee, and an overripe fruit note. A bit of tart prune juice, a tinge of metal on the finish. Very light hops. (364 characters)

A: Pours a dark ruby-brown with a couple fingers of light tan head that receded into a greasy film that left a network of thin lacing down the glass. S: Sweet and briny with strange notes of what I think are spices or fruit. T: Warm alcohol taste with notes of 'root-beer', chocolate and tobacco. Not a good combination. A touch of sourness to the finish with some bitter orange zest thrown in. M: Medium body with even carbonation and a funky sour aftertaste.D: A few mouthful of this was all I could handle. This one did not impress me at all. I see what they were going for in this one, sadly it's just not quite there yet. (662 characters)

Thanks to solomon420 for this offering as part of my bombing anniv. Silver medal winner at GABF 2002, gold medal at the LA County Fair 2003 both in the Old Ale category. Many awards--excellent.

Pours a dark plum color with a thin caramel colored head. Not much retention except for a thin skim. Dark fruit sweetness with subtle strawberry notes. Caramel and chocolate malt and toasted grain notes. Floral notes with hints of roses.

Floral and fruit notes. Tangy lemon and lime zest with a subtle orange peel flavor. Weird. Sweet caramel and dark chocolate hints peak in and out. Toasted grain notes. A bit thin on the palate with a hefty carbonation blast. I'm really not sure what type of brew this is. No personality to this "winter warmer" as it's stated here. Old Ale? I don't think so. A weird cross between a porter and a dubbel, although a dubbel with no belgian esters. Weird as hell....glad my sink was thirsty as I couldn't finish more than 1 pint of this. (973 characters)

Pours a clear dark brown with a 1 inch puffy tan head that settles to a film on the top of the beer. Broken rings of lace form on the glass on the drink down. Smell is of roasted peanuts and roasted malt mainly. Taste is of the roasted peanuts and malt with a hop flavor on the finish. Mild roasty bitterness lingers on the palate after each sip. There is a good level of carbonation with a crisp and bubbly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is a bit one dimensional with the roast aroma and flavor. (517 characters)

If you like a medium hoppy ale, with a BIG sour finish, you'll like this ale. The color was of a hazy reddish brown with load of medium tight tan foam and a fair amount of lace. The taste was of hop's and a lot of sourness. Medium hop's and sourness, that all I got out of this ale. Sour, sour and sour, that's all I can say about this brew. The sourness even in the after taste wasn't pleasant. I for one will never purchase this brew again! (442 characters)

Pours with a small beige foam atop a erddish orange body, decent clarity, good lace, though the head faded quickly.

This is really odd smelling.... its got some brown sugary notes, but they remind me of a bbq marinade, almost in a teriyaki kind of way. Kind of reminiscent of a soy based marinade I have made before....even a little twinge of acid. Additionally, there are some stale 7-11 coffee flavors, caramel notes with some toasted notes in the taste that try to salvage what is really an off-putting aroma. Something else in the finish that I can't quite place, but overall not very enjoyable. (613 characters)

Picked this up on a recent journey to Santa Barbara. Pours a beautiful clear amber with a foamy beige head. Didn't leave any lace but coated the glass nicely. Smell of sweet roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, red fruit (prunes,plums?)spices and a mild hoppiness.
Tangy sweet and biscuity malt flavor upfront. Caramel, fruit, baking spices and a bit of chocolate in the middle. Finishes with a mild hop bitterness, a smidge of alcohol and a wisp of
peat/smoke. Did seem a little out of balance.
Light bodied for the style but had a creamy smooth mouthfeel due to the soft carbonation. Very quaffable beer. The alcohol was hidden well. Glad I picked this up, it was a nice surprise. (683 characters)